Who has never spent a fun night with friends, but the next day woke up in regret because of the painful hangovers?
So why not choose drinks with low ABV levels or even alcohol-free?
In this article, we will share with you the story of 3 successful entrepreneurs who created creative and tasty solutions to address this problem.
SEEDLIP
‘What to drink when you’re Not drinking’®
Seedlip’s story began 3 centuries ago, in 1651, when one physician, John French, published The Art of Distillation documenting non-alcoholic recipes.
At that time, it was common for physicians to distill herbal remedies using copper stills, combining the power of nature with alchemy to solve medical maladies.
Ben, the SEEDLIP founder, happened to find the recipe book written by John French’s and decided to try it in his kitchen, using herbs from his garden.
After starting the experiments, he went to a restaurant where he attempted to a sickly sweet pink mocktail. Then he had the following idea:
“Combine his farming heritage, love of nature, his copper still & forgotten recipes with the need for proper non-alcoholic options; a name inspired by the seed baskets carried by his family centuries before & a process of Seed to Lip: and so Seedlip was born”.
Among the alcohol-free spirits offered by the brand, you will find three unique and complex blends: Spice 94, Garden 108 & Grove 42.
Spice 94
Seedlip’s aromatic Spice 94 was debuted in Selfridges in late 2015. The first batch of 1000 bottles completely sold out in three weeks. The next in three days, and the third 1000 in less than half an hour.
Seedlip’s Spice 94 is non-alcoholic, sugar-free & sweetener-free. No artificial flavors are added. The recipe includes water, natural botanical distillates, and extracts (Allspice berries, Cardamom, Grapefruit peel, Lemon peel, Oak bark, Cascarilla bark).
The 70 cl bottle can be purchased for £ 26.00 on the brand’s website.
Garden 108
The herbal Garden 108 is made using peas picked from the family farm.
Seedlip’s Garden 108 non-alcoholic, has zero calories, is sugar and sweetener free. Artificial flavors are not added to the product.
The ingredients include water, natural botanical distillates, and extracts, such as peas, hay, spearmint, rosemary, thyme, and hops.
A bottle containing 70 cl can be purchased for £ 26.00 on the brand’s website.
GROVE 42
It originates from a combination of citrus-forward blended with 3 types of orange and uplifting spice distillation.
The taste combines orange and mandarin peel with pith notes. Juicy Blood Orange undertones give a stalky, grassy character.
A 70 cl bottle costs £ 26.00 and can also be purchased at the brand’s website.
Lucky Sain – Superior Unfiltered Lager 0.5% ABV
LUKE BOASE, LUCKY SAINT FOUNDER, explains that he “WANTED TO CHANGE HOW THE WORLD THOUGHT ABOUT ALCOHOL-FREE BEER: FROM THE PERCEPTION TO THE PRODUCT, TO THE EXPERIENCE”.
With that in mind, he decided to dedicate himself to designing a new, high-quality product: “PROGRESSIVELY BREWED, IMPECCABLE TASTE”.
However, he explains that during his research he faced several frustrations, realizing how difficult the task of creating an alcohol-free beer with this quality would be.
“AFTER WORKING WITH FOUR SEPARATE BREWERS, I’D EXPERIENCED IT ALL: FAILED BREWS, INFECTED BREWS, AND PLAIN OLD BAD TASTING BREWS”
When he realized the difficulties he would face and how hard the task would be, instead of giving up, he decided to devote himself full time to the task: “STILL BELIEVING IT WAS POSSIBLE, I QUIT MY JOB, GAVE UP DRINKING FOR A YEAR AND HEADED TO GERMANY “.
After a year of research and development, Luke and his team sourced the finest ingredients, creating their own taste, tailoring every part of the brewing process: WE LANDED ON A STYLE AND FLAVOR THAT WAS AND STILL IS A FIRST FOR AN ALCOHOL- FREE BEER.
The result of this research and development effort was Luck Sain, Superior Unfiltered Lager Beer 0.5% ABV. Here are some notes on Luck Sain’s PRECISION BREWING:
INGREDIENTS
Lucky Saint is made with high-quality malted barley. Fresh hops and its own single-use yeast. No additives, no adjuncts, no flavorings.
HYDROLOGY
“If your beer is 95% water, you make sure you choose the right water”.
With that in mind, Lucky Saint team trialed multiple kinds of waters with different chemical make-ups. But it was from Bavaria water, that they found the fresh, crisp spring water that they considered delivering the cleanest flavor.
PROCESS
Lucky Saint it’s not brewed like one an alcohol-free beer, that is why it does not taste like one. No stone is left unturned.
Lucky Saint honed all the process of their beers, from step mash technique and wort run-off to fermentation and dry hopping, seeking to reach the highest levels of flavor.
A pack with 12 X 330ML bottles can be purchased for £ 25.00 on the official website of the brand. Visit here.
Stryyk, NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS
“All the spirit, none of the alcohol.”
Alex Carlton, Stryyk, CEO wanted to develop drinks that would guarantee a night of fun, without the painful stress of the next day.
When he researched the offers of non-alcoholic drinks that were already on the market, he always felt that they compromised something important in the taste.
So, he decided to research and create a new product. With some experience in the drinks industry, due to the Funkin Cocktails brand, created by him in 1999, he decided to dedicate years to researching new recipes and carrying out various tests that culminated in the creation of the brand, STRYYK, a brand of non-alcoholic spirits.
They started with the launch of their first two products: Not Gin and Not Rum in 2018, followed by Not Vodka in January 2019.
Alex explains that his alcohol-free drinks were: “Created to act just like their alcoholic spirit counterparts and swap easily into your existing favorite drinks, like a Not Rum Mojito or Not Gin & tonic, they’re proper non-alcoholic spirits that let you enjoy your night without compromising on taste or experience, whilst meaning you can easily avoid sugary, calorific soft drinks”.
Learn more about each of their non-alcoholic products made with natural materials:
STRYYK NOT GIN
STRYYK NOT GIN, it’s 100% natural and alcohol-free. The recipe does not contain sugar. The drink includes no fat, no carbs, and no artificial flavors. It is distilled and bottled in the UK.
“STRYYK Not Gin is a delicious distilled non-alcoholic alternative to London dry gin made from a combination of coriander, sage, basil, and juniper”.
A bottle of Stryyk gin with 0% Alco / Vol can be purchased on the brand’s website for £ 18.99.
An interesting feature of the Stryyk website is the “serve” session, which shares alcohol-free drink recipes that can be made with the brand’s non-alcoholic spirits. Check below some tasty recipes that can be made with STRYYK NOT GIN.
STRYYK NOT RUM
Sweet sugar cane and raisin notes with natural vanilla and oakwood tones are blended to create the perfectly balanced non-alcoholic spiced STRYYK Not Rum.
STRYYK Not Rum, it’s 100% natural and alcohol-free with no fat, no carbs, and no artificial flavors. The product is distilled and bottled in the UK.
Tasty non-alcoholic drinks recipes are available on the website for the STRYYK Not Rum.
STRYYK NOT VODKA
The warming spice of capsicum with the cooling notes of cucumber and menthol, emulate the characteristics of a classic pure vodka in STRYYK Not Vodka.
The drink also is 100% natural and alcohol-free with no fat, no carbs, and no artificial flavors. Also distilled and bottled in the UK.
STRYYK Not Vodka can be used to make soda & lime non-alcoholic drinks, martini, and many other vodka cocktails.
Looking for glass packaging for your alcohol-free spirits?
Hello-Bottle offers several options in packaging for spirits that adapt perfectly to non-alcoholic Vodkas, Gin and Whiskey. Check here our catalog of packaging solutions for spirits.
